Magdalena

The award-winning writer, photographer, filmmaker, and ethnographer, and longtime Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society--recounts an enthralling journey down Colombia's Magdalena River that illuminates the country's rebirth after decades of political violence, drug cartels, and guerrilla warfare.

The Rio Magdalena is the main artery of Colombia, running from its highlands through Bogotá and into the sea near Cartagena. It drives the nation's economy, fosters trade, provides electricity, and has long featured prominently in Colombia's music and literature. Yet, as the country suffered through decades of unrest and violence in the second half of the twentieth century, the Magdalena suffered too, becoming a dumping ground for the victims of drug cartels and corrupt politics, and an environmental catastrophe.

But by 2016, when Wade Davis made the first of two expeditions along the Magdalena, a newly vibrant Colombia had already succeeded in a cleanup of its main thoroughfare. Davis provides a vivid portrait of the stunning beauty of the river and its environs, as well as a fascinating portrait of the people who live and work along its route. And he gives a riveting history of Colombia itself, from the conquistadors to the political upheavals of the twentieth century to the recent years of peace and stability. This is at once an absorbing travelogue, a first-rate work of social and environmental journalism, and a powerful story of hope and redemption.